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Archive for seeking career

Answering the “Tell Me about Yourself” Interview Question

January 14th, 2013
Answering the “Tell Me about Yourself” Interview Question

Job Interview

Clients regularly ask that I coach them through various interview questions, and one of the most requested is “Tell Me about Yourself.”  I definitely understand why this question creates so much anxiety on the interviewee’s part, mainly because they have no idea what the interviewer really wants from them.  Here is how I coach my clients, helping them to develop an answer prior to the interview with a bit of background but also pre-answering a few potential questions that make the response more complete.

1)    Keep the answer to between one and two minutes, not much more.

While I don’t want my clients to just give the 10-second recitation on a couple of items from their resume and then stop (that is way too short of an answer), I also want them to avoid the 20 minute dissertation inclusive of oversharing.  While it might be interesting that you and your family moved from Detroit to Indianapolis when you were two-years old, this is not the time to relate that little tidbit along with an extended story.

2)    Offer up the best of the best from your resume/ work experience, encompassing credentials/certifications/licensing, education, achievements, awards, major presentations, and important documentation developed.  Be sure to keep these relevant to the job for which you are interviewing, and keep the list short.

3)    Give them a glimpse into your personal life, but within reason.  I tell my clients to use the following:

  1. Books and magazines you read (mention two or three).  These should be business-related, motivational (Stephen Covey, Dr. Wayne Dyer, Brian Tracy), and depending upon the appropriateness of the specific subject matter, history-related or autobiographical.  If your main reading material is science fiction, romance, religious or political, although it may be interesting, refrain from sharing for obvious reasons.
  2. Hobbies (again, just two or three).  Let these be undertakings that show you physically or mentally active, such as community involvement, chess, gardening, working out, running, walking, weight lifting, etc.  Spectator sports are fine too, though being active in something shows someone whose healthcare costs will be low (always a benefit).
  3. Avoid most collecting activities as their appropriateness is often in the eye of the beholder, for instance (I use this in my seminars for a bit of humor), if you like to collect Nazi memorabilia, twist ties and cigarette butts, let that be your little secret.  I collect angels, but unless that interviewer’s office is plastered with pictures and figurines of angels, it would be chancy to disclose.

4)    Pre-answer a few related interview questions:

  1. Why are you seeking a new position?   Tell them if you were downsized or perhaps purposely left your last job.  Also, if it is a career transition, offer a brief explanation as to why.  The only caveat to this concerns being fired outright – and you will need to choose whether to address it now in passing or deal with it later in the interview.
  2. What motivates you to stay in your current profession?  Tell them why you love your current career field or why you enjoy and selected the field you are transitioning into – and why you chose now to do it.
  3. Why did you choose to apply to this particular organization?  Do your homework and research the organization.  Most jobseekers idea of company research is going to the home page of their website and clicking on the “careers” tab.  I encourage you to truly find out as much as you can about the organization, including what they sell (product, service or both), who they sell it to, their financial performance in the past few years, how many employees they have (local, nationwide, even globally), and any interesting recent news (Google them).   Now, before they ever ask you what you know about their company, you have given them a complete, yet brief answer.

If you use this “formula” to prepare your answer, then it will be complete, interesting, and provide the interviewer(s) some great information about who you are and why you are in that interview seat!

Categories Interviews, Job Search
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Top 25 Interview Questions

July 17th, 2012
Top 25 Interview Questions

Job Interview

Whether you are unemployed or seeking career advancement, job searching can be very stressful. Although it’s natural to feel anxious when you’re “in the hot seat,” being prepared for that interview can go a long way towards making you feel more confident and presenting yourself in a polished way. Even though you don’t know in advance what the interviewer will ask you, if you consider how you’ll answer the most typical questions, you’ll be well on your way.

As a Certified Employment Interview Professional, I’ve found that clients who are ready to respond to the following questions tend to be most successful.

1. Tell me about yourself.

2. What would your current and past managers identify as your greatest weakness, and what would you identify as your greatest weakness?

3. What would your current and past managers identify as your greatest strength, and what would you identify as your greatest strength?

4. Tell us what you know about our company.

5. Why do you want to work for us?

6. Why are you leaving your current position or why did you leave your last position?

7. What career accomplishment are you most proud of?

8. Where do you see yourself in five years?

9. If you were unable to meet a commitment or deadline, what would you do?

10. Why do you think your qualified for this position?

11. Tell us about a time you didn’t meet a company goal/objective/timeline.

12. What did you most dislike about your last (or current) job?

13. What motivates you to do a good job?

14. Tell me a suggestion you made that was implemented.

15. Give me an example of a time when you had to think “outside the box.”

16. How do you differ in what you can provide our company from other candidates?

17. Do you prefer to work in a team or individually? Why?

18. Tell me about a time you failed.

19. What book(s) are you currently reading?

20. How do you manage conflicts with a coworker? With a manager? With a client?

21. Describe/define your work style (or management style).

22. What new skills or abilities have you developed recently that you can apply to this position?

23. What do expect from this job?

24. What have you learned from your past jobs?

25. What questions do you have for me?

Be sure to bookmark this blog, as I’ll be offering some tips on the best way to deal with these questions in future posts.

Categories Job Search
Comments (1)

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